Simply Existing
by Lord Ackbar
Summary: A young girl full of heartache seeks to find comfort in her best friend, Shikamaru. But what happens when she gets sent to Suna under the orders of the Gondaime, Tsunade? Unknown feelings start to rise in her for the Kazekage while living there again.
1. Meetings

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of the Naruto characters. I only own my OCs that I put in the story. With that said, please enjoy. Also, any reviews would be very helpful! Let me also say that this story is placed _after_ the Fourth Ninja War that the manga is currently taking place in. If there is anything in my story that clashes with newer chapters, I _will_ change somethings to make it fit with what newer chapters of Naruto reveals.

**EDIT:** Didn't change much, just trying to make the chapters format easier to read. :)

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Meetings<strong>

"Gondaime!" An onyx black haired teenager yelled as she slammed open the door to a large office.

Anger was apparent on the young woman's face as she walked straight towards the blonde haired woman sitting at a large wooden desk in the middle of the room. Behind the woman was a beautiful view of the village and the only thing from preventing wind from entering the office was the large windows that went from the floor to the ceiling. There was a young red haired man sitting in one of the two green chairs in front of the desk. He was facing the windows, but his eyes seemed to be on the young woman.

"What the hell were you _thinking_? Sending me on a mission with a bunch of chuunins!" The young woman proceeded to yell at the woman sitting at the desk as she glared at her. The young woman completely overlooked the fact that a young man was sitting quietly in the chair she was standing next to.

"R.J., I don't have time for this…" The blonde haired woman said through clenched teeth as she glared back at the young woman.

"And why the hell not? Because this meeting of yours isn't _that_ important, Tsunade!" R.J. barked at Tsunade as she slammed her hands on the desk.

"This meeting is more important than explaining _my_ reasoning to a little brat like you!" Tsunade snapped back at R.J. as she started to rub her forehead with her index and middle fingers.

"Why? Because you're talking with a stupid messenger from Suna?" R.J. inquired with a smartass tone.

"Yes." Tsunade said bluntly as she closed her eyes. Tsunade was trying to hold her annoyance back while talking with R.J.

"That's a load of fucking bull and you know it." R.J. sneered at Tsunade as she straightened herself up off the desk and glanced at the young man. He just sat there watching them both bicker; amusement could be seen in his usually emotionless aqua-green eyes. Tsunade didn't reply to R.J.'s remark. R.J. was fed up with the way Tsunade was acting towards her. "You know what? To hell with giving me a goddamn explanation, _Gondaime_. I'm just a mere tool for you to use anyways, aren't I?" R.J. hissed at Tsunade as she turned away from Tsunade.

"R.J., you know that's not true…" Tsunade replied with a soft tone as she looked at R.J.'s back.

"Then why am I the one who is always assigned the S-class missions? I'm only eighteen. I still have my whole life ahead of me and you give me _those_ missions!" R.J. countered hatefully with her head to the ground.

"Because I know that you can stay alive and finish the mission correctly." Tsunade answered as she stood up from her chair.

"Yeah… I _**always**_ stay alive, don't I? While I get stuck knowing that I destroy families and the hearts of small villages of our village's enemies, yeah, I'm still fuckin' here." R.J. sneered as she clenched her fists tightly just to prevent herself from lashing out and hitting the wall nearest to her. Tsunade stood there silently. She never thought about the mentality of the missions she had given R.J., an eighteen year old girl. She never thought about how the girl would feel about killing or destroying another's life. She certainly never gave a second look about the consequences of sending the poor girl on all those S-ranked missions. She really never thought about any of this simply because R.J. never showed her feelings about the missions she went on. R.J. never spoke about the things that had happened on any of those missions before.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama. I was out of line." R.J. spoke; suddenly there was no emotion evident in her voice and her face was emotionless as she bowed to Tsunade and swiftly left the office without another word.

"I believe it is right to say that this meeting is done for now, Gaara-sama." Tsunade said to the red haired, teenage boy. He was still sitting silently in the chair. Gaara nodded his head softly and proceeded to disappear in a swirl of sand.

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><p>R.J. was sitting on the roof of her apartment with her eyes watching the clouds float on by. Not a minute later, she hears her loud-mouthed neighbor making his way down the street below her. It was around noon now, she suspected or the Kyuubi carrier wouldn't be heading to the local ramen shop. She looked around at all the people walking up and down the street, golden-hazel eyes settled on a blonde haired, teenage boy who was happily eating his bowl of ramen. A large group of teenagers came up to the blonde boy; talking and laughing as they joined the boy. She could see it, how much fun they were having and her eyes narrowed at them.<p>

"What a bunch of morons…" R.J. hissed, her voice full of envy. "Tsh… I hate'em all." Her eyes watched them for a few minutes and then the blonde boy suddenly looked up at her and grinned widely.

"R.J! Why don't you come join us?" His annoyingly happy voice rang through her ears. A small smile played on her lips as she remembered that they weren't so bad to be around.

As she left his sight from the rooftop, he knew she'd be down with him and the others soon enough. He returned talking with the group of teenagers that was eating with him. "Just you all wait; I'm going to be the one to bring Sasuke back!" He said loudly as he punched one fist into his open hand, smiling as he did so.

R.J. smirked as she stood behind the blonde boy and said, "Like hell you will, Naruto! I'll be the one bring him back; full force." Her voice brought all their attention to her and Naruto turned in his chair and grinned at her.

"Good afternoon, R.J." The pink haired girl sitting next to Naruto greeted R.J.

"Right back at you, Sakura." R.J. replied with a small smile but she never took a seat.

"Why don't you sit down, R.J.?" A blonde haired girl asked after quietly gulping down a little of her ramen.

"I'm not really planning on staying long right now. I have some matters to attend to soon, Ino." R.J. stated bluntly. She never really liked hanging around them all in a cramped place like the Ramen Shop.

"So, what reason do we owe this special visit to?" A black haired boy asked with a lazy tone. R.J. looked at him with her head tilted to the right.

"No reason, Shika-kun." She heard a groan from him as she called him that nickname. She looks at everyone again, all five of them taking up the whole counter of the Ramen Shop.

"Are you going to finish that, Shikamaru?" The chubby looking one finally spoke after stuffing his face with his bowl of ramen. Shikamaru waved him off, silently saying it was okay for the chubby one to take it.

"Choji! What have I told you about eating his food all the time?" Ino yelled at the chubby boy from the other side of Shikamaru. R.J. swore she could have heard Shikamaru mutter 'How troublesome' underneath his breath.

"Well, it's time for me to head out. I'll see you all later." R.J. said as she turned around and started walking down the street. Her destination was the training ground. What she didn't realize was that Shikamaru excused himself too and was heading the same place as she was.

"So, R.J.?" His lazy voice came from behind her as he caught up to her fast pace.

"Hmm?" R.J. answered while looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"How have you been?" He asked her as she started to slow down her pace. She knew he liked to walk slowly and he knew she was slowing down for him, not the question he asked. His black eyes showed he was curious to know the answer.

"Well, for starters… I just got back from another S-ranked mission… with a bunch for _willing_ chuunins." R.J. spat out the last part of her sentence.

Shikamaru winced a little at the sound of her harsh voice, knowing how much R.J. hates being put on teams in those kinds of missions. They finally reached their destination, the training ground. They both took a seat at a nearby tree to give them shade from the sun. Shikamaru proceeded to lay down next to R.J., his hands behind his head and legs sprawled out on the grass. R.J. was leaning her back against the tree with her left knee bent and supporting her left arm on it. Her right leg was sprawled out next to Shikamaru's left leg.

"Yeah… At least they actually followed my orders correctly, so they didn't die. And earlier today I busted into Tsunade-sama's office demanding to know the reason she gave me the mission with the chuunins." R.J. continued and Shikamaru looked up at her with a brow raised.

"And?" He was telling her to continue her story.

"And, she refuses to tell me because when I went into the office, I interrupted a 'meeting' and now she's mad at me." R.J. finished as she crossed her arms, she was still slightly mad at what happened earlier. Shikamaru could understand how she felt about the missions; he was the only one she really talked to about them. In a way, they were best friends in his eyes even though she still keeps to herself with some things. He was also curious to know about this 'meeting' she had interrupted.


	2. The Unknown Mistake

**Chapter Two: The Unknown Mistake**

"Would you quit pestering me about the damn meeting? Sheesh, I honestly don't know what it was about nor do I care. Tsunade-sama was talking with some dumb sand-nin." R.J. snapped at Shikamaru. He had been trying to figure out what the meeting was about that R.J. had barged in on. He had been doing this for the past 20 minutes. He raised a brow at the word sand-nin; finally, he had gotten a clue out of her.

"A sand-nin, you say?" He asked as he sat up straight and leaned against the tree. They were still and the training ground. He didn't mind it at all; this was usually the only time he got to talk to his best friend. As he watched her nod at his question, he had a pretty clear idea who the sand-nin was. "What did he look like, R.J.?" Shikamaru asked even though he knew the answer. There was no way it would have been any other person. R.J. gave him a look that held confusion and irritation, but she complied with his request.

"Um… He had red hair, aqua-green eyes. His skin was kinda pale in color." She gave him a simple description, but that was all he needed to confirm his suspicion.

"You don't even know who he is, do you?" He asked her as he watched her stand up. He could tell she didn't really want to talk anymore.

"No, why?" She gazed down at Shikamaru, "It's not like he is any threat to me whether or not we had treaty with Suna." Their eyes locked with one another and Shikamaru had a feeling she was right.

"R.J. that sand-nin, he's Sabuku No Gaara."

R.J. broke their eye contact by turning her head to face in front of her. Quick flashes of memories went through her mind, but she quickly shook them away.

"And the Kazekage." Shikamaru added.

He saw that her fists clenched tightly; he wondered what was going on through her mind. He knew she was put in a short coma before the war took place. She had been caught in debris from a crumbling building when she went in to save a crying little girl. She probably had no idea that Gaara wasn't the same person as the Gaara from the Chuunin exams, where he believes is the first time she had met him.

"Tsh, like I care who the hell he is or what he's done. I still hear negative things about Sabuku No Gaara by other Jounins. Yet, when I saw him there in Tsunade-sama's office, he looked nothing like I remembered." She said right before she disappeared in her trademark swirl of water. Shikamaru sensed that R.J. was upset by something. He was a genius but even he couldn't tell what made her so upset just now. He stood up and dusted himself off; he knew where R.J. went. She always goes there when she's not okay. He started to walk westward into the forest of the training ground.

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><p>Memories of the time she spent in Suna as a kid filled her mind. R.J.'s hazel-brown eyes narrowed as rage pulsed through her veins. "How could they have done such a thing to a mere boy then? Wasn't I enough? That stupid old Kazekage… and the villagers. Ugh! Makes my blood boil at the thought of it all!" She swung her right arm out to the side and then backwards until her fist collided with a tree.<p>

"Why do you hold so much hate, R.J.?" Someone said from behind her. She knew that voice; she knew why he was here. He was a smart guy, the smartest person she's ever known. She figured that he must have realized it by now.

"Because Shika-kun, I was born this way. I was born with this rage, this hate in me." She turned to see him leaning on the tree she just hit.

"I was born to kill anyone and everyone in my way," She stepped toward him but he didn't move. She liked that about him; he was never afraid to hear her out. He listened to her even though she kept things about herself from him. He was her best friend in her eyes. She leaned her head down on his shoulder that wasn't on the tree.

"I've gone through more terrible situations than the Kazekage has." Shikamaru sighed and put an arm lazily around her shoulders. Silently telling her he was here for her. "I'm more of a monster than he was." She whispered.

"How can you possibly think that when you've got such loving friends?" Shikamaru looked down at R.J.'s form.

He was worried about her; she never talks like this to him. He slowly figured that she must have left important things out when she told him of her times in Suna. R.J. was silent; she didn't know how to answer his question. She was trying to figure out why she went from being so full of rage to a state of sadness when he arrived. It was confusing her. Was this what he meant about having loving friends? She lifted her head to look at Shikamaru and proceeded to put her hands on his shoulders.

"Why did you come out here?" She asked quietly.

He looked her in the eyes and simply said, "Because I'm your friend and I care."

That was all she thought she needed to hear from him. She slowly brought her face closer to his. Shikamaru didn't move; he was becoming a bit confused. What is she trying to do? And then it hit him as he felt her soft lips gently touch his. His mind was racing as he slowly kissed back. His mind was telling him that this was what he's been wanting from her for so long.

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><p><strong>AN:** Sorry for such a short chapter. Just finished off my finals. Hopefully, I'll be able to right more longer chapters before my Summer semester starts (May 23rd). If this chapter was too confusing or feel like some things were off/moving too fast. Please. Please, let me know. If I get more time, I'll most likely rewrite this chapter if someone or even I find something wrong with it. Thanks for reading! :D


	3. Decisions

**Chapter Three: Decisions**

It had been almost a week since she had kissed him. She still couldn't believe that she had done it. They were best friends; why did she go and ruin that with a kiss? Sure, he kissed her back but didn't that make their relationship as friends completely different now? How would she act around him with the others now? Would she have to act any different or act like nothing ever happened? Needless to say, R.J. was so confused with herself at the moment. She was slightly glad that she was called to the Hokage's office the second they parted from the kiss. She didn't know what she would have said to him if the Hokage's bird hadn't circled above them. Though, part of her was disappointed. She wanted to know how and what he felt for her. Did he have the same feelings for her as she did him? Or did he just kiss back because of reflex? She sighed as she entered back into the Hokage's office once again.

"I completed the escort, Tsunade-sama." R.J. said in a dull voice as she closed the doors to the office. She was too lost in her thoughts to notice that she had again interrupted another meeting. It was when she looked to the Hokage's desk, did she see a familiar person sitting in front of Tsunade. Although, R.J. was surprised to see him, she didn't show it.

"Gomen… I didn't realize you were in a meeting." She said softly. She was trying to sound like she wasn't tired. Her kiss with Shikamaru had clouded her mind throughout her just finished mission. She hadn't slept the whole time she was on it.

"That's quite alright, R.J." Tsunade said from her desk. She looked at the person sitting in front of her and then to R.J. standing at the doors. "You actually walked into an important decision about yourself."

"Huh…?" R.J.'s curiosity had been caught by that sentence. R.J. looked back and forth from Tsunade and the man occupying the seat in front of her.

"R.J., I'm requesting to send you to Suna as a new way of strengthening the bond of the Leaf's and Sand's treaty." Tsunade said with a smirk as she leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed in front of her chest. R.J. just blinked at hearing this. She was having a chance to return home freely? Did these two sitting here in front of her even know of her true origins? Did they know she was a Suna native? No, they couldn't. They would have said something about it by now if they had. She hasn't been to Suna since she was eight years old; that was a little over ten years ago. Needless to say, she was getting excited about it.

"I'd be honored to, Hokage-sama, Kazekage-sama." R.J. said as she bowed to them, trying to hide the smile playing at her lips. She knew that they didn't know she was a native to Suna. How would they? She kept it a tight secret; only saying she'd visited the village before as a child. She had a past there that she didn't care to share with anyone, not yet at least.

Tsunade smiled just as the Kazekage nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"We will be leaving tomorrow around noon. Be at the gates by that time." Came the deep voice of the Kazekage as he stood up and looked at R.J. His aqua-green eyes scanning and analyzing her. What reason did Tsunade have in choosing this woman to be the shinobi to come back with him? Surly, there was a reason for it. He would have like to have chosen someone he already knew. There was something odd about her to him, maybe it was subtle presence of chakra he felt radiating off of her. The chakra wasn't of anything he'd felt before; it felt calming yet deadly.

R.J. looked up at him as she straightened out of her bow.

"Wouldn't have it any other way, Kazekage-sama." She said with a smile as she waved and disappeared in a swirl of water.

"Does she always do that?" The Kazekage asked Tsunade without turning to face her. It striked him odd to see her disappear like that; it was almost as if he had seen someone do that before. Now, he was curious about just who the girl was.

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><p>R.J. was sitting in the middle of her bed, twirling a pen in her hand while holding a notebook in the other. She was already packed and ready to go even though she still had about two hours before she had to leave. Right now, she was trying to decide if what she just wrote was exactly what she had wanted to say to a certain genius. She decided to read it over once again to make sure.<p>

_Shika-kun,_

_ Let me start this off by saying that I'm truly sorry that I will not be back anytime soon. I was offered another mission the moment I walked into Tsunade-sama's office. Usually, you know I would decline an offer after just finishing one. But my mind was clouded by my emotions when I had accepted this mission. I will be sent to Suna for this mission. I cannot express in words how happy I was upon hearing I get to return to Suna. Being the genius that you are, I will assume you can figure out why._

_ Another matter I wanted to discuss is our kiss. I know this may sound too straight forward, but when have I ever beaten around the bush? Anyways, let me say that I had loved the fact that we had such an embrace. You've made me feel such emotions I thought I'd never get to feel. I feel that you are more than a best friend to me and I'm terribly sad that our time with one another has come to a sudden end with my decision to go to Suna._

_ Farewell,_

_ R.J._

"This should be fine. Now, off to give it to him." She said as she folded the letter up and hopped off her bed. She still found it odd that he was the only one to ever get her to open up even if it was a little bit. She didn't know why she felt so comfortable talking to him but she couldn't dwell on it anymore. There was no point to in her mind. She was leaving and there was no turning back.

She grabbed her green sleeveless jounin vest, leaving the zipper front open, and put it on as she looked into her dresser's mirror one last time. Her golden-hazel eyes staring back at her with a slight glare. She hated how she looked. She had long, onyx black hair that reached the small of her back and light, tanned smooth skin. She wore a light blue, tube top underneath her jounin vest and tight blue pants. Her stomach, from the bottom of her top to the start of her pants, was covered in bandages. From her wrists to the middle of her forearms were covered in bandages as well and from the end of her bandages to the middle of her upper arms were covered by fishnet arm wears. Her mahogany colored headband was tied on her upper right thigh, while her kunai holder was strapped to her upper left thigh. Dark blue shinobi sandals completed her attire.

She sighed as she turned away from her reflection in the mirror and picked up her small bag she packed up last night as she headed for her apartment door. She did not like the way she looked. She didn't think she looked as pretty as the other teens her age. Sure, she had some of the curves and development of the breasts but they were just average compared to most girls she'd seen before. She pushed her insecurities aside as she walked out of her apartment and locked the door.

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><p>She was now walking toward the front gates of Konoha, where the Kazekage said to meet him at. She was slightly disappointed that she didn't get to see Shikamaru before she had to leave. She had found out that he was out on a mission when she went by his house to drop the letter off. She was an hour early to be heading for the gates already but she didn't mind leaving early.<p>

"You're a bit early." She heard a deep voice say behind her that made her stop in mid-step.

"Well, Kazekage-sama, I didn't want to keep you waiting." She said with a smirk as she turned to face him. She was a little surprised at how close he was standing in front of her and how he was a whole head taller than her; making her have to tilt her head up a little to look at him. He was staring intensely down at her; it was making her fell slightly uncomfortable. Wasn't he her age though? Why did he make her feel awkward by just staring at her? She felt a bit annoyed at this fact. No one had ever made her feel this uncomfortable before.

"I see. Then shall we head out now?" The Kazekage asked without ever leaving his gaze on her. R.J. lips held a small smile as she brushed off the awkward feeling she felt.

"Of course."


	4. Home Once Again

**Chapter Four: Home Once Again**

"How do you know that there is a quicker route to Suna?" The Kazekage asked R.J. as he was leaning against a tree. The two of them had stopped in a clearing for the night. There was no point in wasting energy just to arrive at Suna faster but then, R.J. suggested a different route; one that would make them arrive faster than the route the Kazekage had them going.

"Because I've been there before, Kazekage-sama." R.J. replied simply as she tended to their small camp fire. The Kazekage raised a brow at this tid bit of information.

"Care to elaborate on that?"

"Not a chance, Kazekage-sama." R.J. quickly responded as she side glanced at the red haired teen to her right.

"You have no choice in the matter. You're entering my domain; you have to follow my orders." He said as he crossed his arms, still leaning on the tree. R.J. stood and turned to him with narrowed eyes. She couldn't believe it; he was pulling that superior card on her like it was normal to do that on a stranger.

"You," she paused for a second trying to word her thoughts carefully, "You have no right to pry into my past." The light emitting from the fire danced on her skin, also making her golden-hazel eyes glow.

"Your… past?" He questioned slowly. He was actually taken back by this; he wasn't expecting to hear her say that. Her past? What the hell did that mean? He didn't want to know her past, only wanting to know what she meant about being in Suna before. His eyes narrowed in confusion as he looked at her.

"Shit," R.J. breathed, "I didn't mean it like that. I meant that… Ugh. You suck."

"What?" He growled; she was starting to piss him off. What the fuck was wrong with this girl? It was like she was hiding something, but was slipping up. What was it she was trying to hide? Now, he was getting angry. Why did Tsunade tell him this girl was honest and loyal? This girl clearly wasn't honest. Was Tsunade even fooled by her?

"What are you hiding?" He sneered at her, letting his anger get the best of him.

"My past, obviously." R.J. said calmly, rolling her eyes, as if the Kazekage wasn't someone to be afraid of. The Kazekage glared harshly at her; so she was honest. Did Tsunade not know of this girl's past as well? What made Tsunade not pry about it? The Kazekage couldn't help be feel so angry about all this.

"The best remedy for a short temper is a long walk, Kazekage-sama." R.J. stated as she turned her back to him and returned her attention to the fire. She heard the Kazekage grunt then the movement of sand behind her. A small smile played at her lips knowing that she'd pissed off the Kazekage just like she did the Hokage when she first asked to be a shinobi of the leaf.

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><p>"Looks like we made it in record time, eh, Kazekage-sama." R.J. said with a smile as the two of them walked through the desert with the Suna gates within view. She felt great to be back in this desert place. She loved the heated day and the cold nights that came from living in this environment. The wind blew sand in her face, but she held her gaze. This small action had the Kazekage look at her suspiciously. No one that just visits Suna is able to withstand the harshness of the desert causally like R.J. had just done. Had she been here longer than just a visit? What was she doing in Suna when she was here?<p>

"Gaara! You're back so soon?" A female voice yelled as the pair reached the gates; also bringing the Kazekage out of his thoughts.

"Who's this runt?" A male voice said as he looked at R.J. walking next to Gaara.

"I am R.J., not 'runt,' you clown." R.J. retorted as she looked at the male in front of her.

The male looked to be about 20 to 21 years old. He had purple face paint on and was wearing a black long sleeve shirt, black pants, black fingerless gloves and a black hood with sand Hitai-ate. His hood gave him the appearance of having cat ears. He had three large scrolls strapped to his back. His onyx eyes held a glare and he had an annoyed look on his face after hearing her call him a clown.

The female standing next to the guy appeared to be around 22 years of age. She had blonde hair up in four pig-tails and dark green eyes. She was sporting a short-sleeved black kimono that reaches down to her legs, with slits along the side and a revealing neckline. There was a red sash around her waist and black fingerless gloves on her hands. Her Hitai-ate was on her forehead, underneath her bangs. A small smirk played on her lips.

"I'm starting to like her already." She said with an amused tone.

"This is the shinobi that Tsunade chose for the treaty agreement; just like I sent my student, Matsuri." Gaara said calmly to the two in front of him. Gaara's attire consisted of full-length dark trousers with a pair of laces on each leg; respectively a few inches below the waist and the knees. A long-sleeved crimson coat with flaring hemlines on the front and the back, a grey holster vest held in place by a single strap over his left shoulder and by two buckled belts which were carrying his gourd on his back. He also had another pair of casually worn belts around his waist.

"Ha! You have a student? Are you even old enough to be teaching?" R.J. said as she looked at Gaara.

"Enough of this nonsense. Temari, Kankuro, show this kunoichi to her room at our house. I'll be in my office." Gaara ordered just before he disappeared in a swirl of sand.

"You've got to be kidding me? Why do we have to burdened with this kinda shit?" Kankuro muttered, but it was loud enough for R.J. to hear.

"Not like I want to be burdened with your retarded presence either, clown." R.J. said with a slight glare directed toward him.

"I am not a clown, you little girl." He snapped back at her. R.J. smirked at knowing how easy she got on this guy's nerves.

"Watch what you say. I'm by no means a little girl."

"Kankuro, shut up." Temari said as she smacked him behind the head. She turned around and started heading in the direction of the sand siblings' house. "Come on, we haven't got all day." She said without turning around. Kankuro rubbed the back of his head and started following Temari. R.J. looked at their retreating backs before silently following them. A smile played on her lips as she said,

"I'm finally home once again."

* * *

><p>The Kazekage Residence is where the sand siblings lived at. It was a large, round, sandy coloured building with several rows of windows and the kanji for Wind painted on the side of the building in a circle. The top of the building is flat and tiled with a water tower to one side. Apparently, it also contained the meeting chamber of the Sunagakure Council of Elders, the statues of the previous Kazekages and the Kazekage's office as well.<p>

"Almost reminds me of the Hokage's Residence." R.J. stated as they walked through the main doors. To the right of them were stairs and to the left was a rather large door. Temari opened the large door to reveal that it was the door leading into their house.

"We have a lot of extra rooms. Feel free to choose which one you want." Temari told R.J. as they all walked through the door and into what appeared to be the living room; a very spacious one. Kankuro closed the door and started heading to his room that was the first door on the right of a hallway across from the main door they had entered.

"Tsh, what an ass." R.J. muttered as she watched him enter his room and close the door.

"We're gonna get along just fine, if you keep pissing him off." Temari laughed as she sat herself down on the couch that was in the middle of the living room. It was facing a large flat screen T.V. that hung on the wall to the left of R.J.

"His attitude annoys you too?" R.J. asked with a smirk seeing how the sand siblings aren't like any other family relationship she'd seen. Konoha was filled with a little too much loving families for her liking. The sand siblings, however, she could get used to. Temari just nodded her head to R.J.'s question as she held the T.V. remote and turned it on.

"My room is across Kankuro's and Gaara's is the last one on the left. And the door at the end of the hall leads straight to the roof." Temari said, her eyes never leaving the screen of the T.V.

"Thanks for the info, Temari-sama." R.J. replied as she started heading for the only other room closest to the door to the roof.

"You can just call me Temari, none of that proper suffix stuff." Temari called out to her, making R.J. smile a little.


	5. Ask Away

**Chapter Five: Ask Away**

R.J. sighed as she stood outside the Kazekage's office. She's been here for three weeks already and he has yet to give her any missions ranking above 'B.' As easy as the missions were for her; she was a Jounin. She deserved A-ranked missions; the Hokage never gave her missions lower than A-ranks. She didn't come to the Kazekage's office to complain about that though. She was glad he wasn't expecting her to go out on high ranking missions like the Hokage did, but that didn't stop her from being curious as to why he hasn't.

She quietly knocked on the door that stood in front of her. She waited until she heard him say, "Come in," from inside the office. She opened the door a little and poked her head through for a second before fully entering.

The Kazekage was at his desk with stacks of papers on the left side of the desk.

"What is it you want?" Gaara said; his voice sounded rich and deep to R.J's ears. R.J. closed the door and made her way to Gaara's desk.

"Just got a question to ask you, Kazekage-sama." R.J. said as she picked up a paper from the top of one of the stacks on Gaara's desk. She looked at it with disinterest; it was just a recent mission report that needed Gaara's approval before it was sent out to be filed in the Village's records.

"It's disrespectful to just pick up things off of the Kazekage's desk, R.J." Gaara said though he really didn't want to read the stack of reports right now. He was bored of them.

"It's not like you're offended by it." R.J. replied as she shrugged and set the paper back down. "Anyways, I want to know why you only give me B-ranked missions." R.J. stated as she looked at the profile view she had of Gaara. She had to admit it; he did look kind of attractive.

"I have no reason to tell you why I chose the missions I give you." Gaara replied as he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"I should've known that was gonna happen." R.J. said in an amused tone. "Well, Kazekage-sama, I asked you a question; go ahead and ask me one."

"What?" Gaara said as he turned his head to face her.

"Go and ask me a question. It's only fair." R.J. reasoned with him with a smile. Gaara felt a little cautious about this; it almost felt as if she was up to something. He chose to go against his better judgment and play along with her. Maybe this was a chance to find out more about her that Tsunade failed to tell him.

"Is R.J. your real name?" He asked; his eyes locked on her to see her body's reaction to the question. He saw her body tense a little then relaxed.

"No, it's not. It's an alias." She answered as she shook her head. She had no reason to lie about the questions he asked; she felt that he was trustworthy enough to get some answers from her but not all of them. She wasn't ready to tell anyone everything about her just yet. Gaara furrowed his brows at this answer.

"An alias? Tsunade let you into Konoha with only an alias?" He asked before realizing he asked another question.

"Yeah, an alias. And Tsunade-sama did because she said she'd rather have me as an ally than an enemy." R.J. said as she shrugged her shoulders again; she didn't really care if he kept asking her questions. He was the Kazekage, so he had a right to; at least that's what she thought. "Go on, keep asking. I'm feeling generous today."

"What do you mean by Tsunade wanting you as an ally than an enemy?" Gaara was starting to get a little curious now, not that he would let that show in his monotone voice.

"Because of the power of my Kekkei Genkai." R.J. said in a rather dull tone. She, personally, didn't like her Kekkei Genkai. It's what she believes makes her a monster.

"You have a Kekkei Genkai? Why isn't that stated in your file?"

R.J. blinked for a second at his newest question.

"What do you mean not in my file?" R.J. replied to him with her own question. She was sure it would have stated she had a Kekkei Genkai, just not what it was. How could Tsunade not put that type of information on her file. It was practically the only real bit of information Tsunade had of her.

"You're lying aren't you, Kazekage-sama?" R.J. questioned as she narrowed her eyes at him. She realized what his tactic was. He was trying to see if she would slip up and reveal just what her Kekkei Genkai was. She put her hands on the edge of his desk and leaned over it a little to be at the same eye level as Gaara. "Aren't you a clever one, but I've been playing this game all my life. I will not get out-smarted by you." She told him with what looked like a conceited expression. He looked her in the eyes as she said this. No matter how confident she sounded about being able to keep her secrets hidden; her eyes had conflicting thoughts. Her hazel-brown eyes seemed to cry out, but for what? Gaara couldn't tell. The next thing Gaara asked came to a surprise to the both of them.

"Why do you try so hard to hide yourself behind such walls?"

R.J. closed her eyes and straightened herself up. "Sometimes, Kazekage-sama, you put up walls not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down." And with that R.J. disappeared in her trademark swirl of water. It was obvious that Gaara's last question had greatly affected R.J., though he did not know why.

* * *

><p>R.J. landed on the roof of the Kazekage residence with a frown tugging down on her lips.<p>

"Tsh, who does he think he is? Asking a question like that?" She was speaking to herself as she paced around the rooftop; trying to figure out why that last question unsettled her so much. "Why'd I even respond to the damn question anyways? Ugh, what the hell was I even thinking when I gave him that answer?" She slowly stopped pacing around and just stood there on the middle of the roof. She turned her head to her right where she knew the door to the roof was.

"What?" She snapped at the man leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm the Kazekage, you leave when I tell you to leave." He responded with no emotion evident.

"You are not my kage." R.J. muttered as she glared at him. She was getting irritated with him always using that 'I'm the Kazekage' excuse.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at her in response. "You are under my jurisdiction, you will obey my orders."

"I am not your shinobi. I only followed your orders as respect to the Hokage's wishes. I do not have to _obey_ you." She sneered at him as she clenched her fists. Sand started to wrap around her ankles. She continued to glare at the Kazekage as she walked forward as if his sand was never on her. Gaara's sand was still where her ankles had been. This action made Gaara glare fiercely at R.J.

"How the hell did you get out of my sand's grasp?" He tone made it clear he was demanding the answer, not asking for it.

"Are you mad that you can't threaten me?" R.J. questioned as her body started to become transparent like vapor in the air. "You wanted to know want my Kekkei Genkai was, right? Well, let me demonstrate for you." R.J. completely disappeared from Gaara's view. Gaara kept his guard up as he tried to locate where R.J. was.

"Having trouble?" R.J. was taunting him now as Gaara pulled a scrawl on his features. "You're a smart boy; you must have an idea of what my ability is by now."

Gaara's sand rustled on the ground in frustration.

"You're able to turn yourself into the water vapors in the air." Gaara's answer was quick and harsh. He was starting to hate this girl with her secrets and this Kekkei Genkai. Her ability gave her the advantage against him. The hairs on his neck stood on ends when he felt someone trace a finger across the back of his neck. She was toying with him. Gaara's sand went to catch the culprit that touched him, but all efforts were in vain. There was nothing behind him that his sand could touch. Gaara growled in annoyance; this was not what he expected her Kekkei Genkai to be.

"Yes, but that's not all I can do." R.J. said with a chuckle as she formed herself in front of him. Gaara glared at her; this was not what he signed up for when he agreed to Tsunade's new treaty rule.

"Why'd Tsunade chose you for the treaty?" Gaara's tone was harsh and demanding.

"To annoy you, maybe? I don't know exactly. I was never told why, remember?" R.J. replied coolly as shifted her weight to her right leg and shrugged her shoulders.

"You are becoming a nuisance." Gaara stated as he went to turn around and walk back inside the building.

"And you have always been a jerk, even when we were kids!" She yelled back at his retreating form. He froze for a moment before continuing walking away.

Once he was gone, R.J. cursed to herself. She just gave vital information of herself out of anger. She knew that sooner or later she would have to fess up; she has already given him too much information. She growled in frustration.

It seems Gaara has beaten her at her own game.


	6. Don't Be A Fool

Hey thar! Sorry about not updating in a long, long time. I kinda had other priorities. Hehe. I got MARRIED! And I've been busy with College and getting all the paperwork done for the marriage certificate and name changes on all my things like credit cards, driver's licenses, etc. :)

Other than that, I hope you enjoy the chapter. I'll try to update more often, though it's not a guarantee. 'Cause I tend to forget a lot of things I should do. I suppose I should start using an agenda. lol.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six: Don't Be a Fool<strong>

Weeks have passed since she let him know vital information. She had been avoiding him whenever it wasn't professional business. She couldn't afford to leak out more information.

She was currently on the rooftop of the Kazekage residence, like she always is as of late. She couldn't get past the fact that he somehow had outsmarted her to get information. She was laying down looking up at the sky, observing the crescent moon above her. She suddenly narrowed her eyes at the night sky.

"Must you pester me?" She growled quietly as she felt a familiar chakra on the roof. She refused to look at him, even after she heard him walking toward her. His being now blocked her view of the moon as he looked down at her with arms crossed. His eyes narrowed into a glare as he peered at her laying form. R.J. glared back up at him.

"Care to tell me why my brother is tearing up his office trying to find more information on you?" The puppeteer asked with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"How the hell should I know? I'm not your brother." R.J. replied smoothly as she kept her gaze on him. From what she could see, Kankuro wasn't wearing his normal outfit but a casual attire. It consisted of a plain black shirt and black shinobi pants. He didn't even have his face paint on at the moment. His hands were in his pant pockets as his upper body was leaning over R.J.

"Look here, you little b-"

"I'll advise you not to finish that sentence." R.J. interrupted. Her voice was calm but her eyes held a silent rage. She knew what he was trying to do and she wasn't in the mood for this. She didn't care how concerned he was for his brother on this matter. She wasn't going let them know who she was just yet. No, they couldn't know. She would be kicked out of the village again if she let them find out. The elders thought they killed her; she wasn't too eager to let them know she was still alive.

Kankuro had flinched. He didn't know whose fury was worse, Gaara's rage or this girl. She was calm and silent about it while Gaara was open about it. Needless to say, she scared him. Her type was unpredictable, hell, she **was** unpredictable. They hardly knew anything about her at all.

Gaara had told him and their sister about her slip up. And it led them to more questions rather than answers. How did she know Gaara as a kid? Did she know them all as kids? Why don't they remember knowing a girl in their childhood days? And what about her abilities? Surely they would have remembered something like that, right? This was going nowhere.

"Tsh. Whatever. Gaara wants to see you in the Kazekage Office." He grumbled as he turned around and walked back inside. He wasn't going to even try and get anything out of her. That was now solely his brother's job.

* * *

><p>"Kazekage-sama." R.J. said as she stood in front of his desk, trying to stay in a professional manner. She didn't pay attention to all the files spread hastily across his desk; she just looked at him with a blank face. He was sitting in his chair with his elbows on the desk, his hands together, fingers intertwined and his chin resting on his hands. He stared at her for a bit before responding.<p>

"You know why you're here." He said as if stating a fact rather than asking a question. Hearing this made her lose her professional manner. Hadn't she already stated she wasn't going to tell him anything? She wasn't going to give him the answers he wanted.

"You're a fool." She replied. This earned her a harsh glare as she looked directly into his eyes. He's determined; she'll give him that. "Do you really think I'm going to make it easy for you?"

When he didn't say anything, she continued. "I've never told a living soul about who I am. What makes you think you're so damn special?"

She didn't even have time to blink. The moment she finished her words, she got pinned to his desk. She had to brace herself up with her arms. Gaara was in front of her, leaning over her with his hands flat on the desk and trapping her in between his arms. His face was close to hers as she looked up at him.

"I will not tolerate you speaking to me like that." He growled. She could feel his warm breath touch her lips. She couldn't help it as her cheeks heated up a little by this close proximity. Despite being this close, she wasn't going to back down.

"Tsh, you don't own me." She said as she lifted herself up just a little; bringing her body closer to his, her face closer to his as she looked him dead in the eyes. She was trying to prove to him that she wasn't afraid, that he should now that by now.

The moment she moved closer, he stiffened. He could feel her breath; hot across his skin. She was too close. He didn't know what to do. No one's ever dared to do this to him; they've always backed down when he got too close for their comfort. Why didn't it work on her? Why was he the one getting uncomfortable? He stared back at her with a blank face, trying not to show his slight discomfort but the way her lips curved upwards into a small smile told him she already knew.

"Ah, you've never been this close to someone before, have you Gaara-sama?" She teased. Her eyes now held amusement, any anger she held moments before dissipated.

"Hn." He grunted as he abruptly straightened himself. He walked back to his chair and sat down; adverting his attention to the files on his desk. One particular file was open and it soon caught the attention of the Leaf shinobi still in the room.

"Where did you get that file?" Her voice no longer held amusement.

No, it held fear.

Gaara furrowed his brows. How did she know what's in this file? It took him a long time to convince the Council Elders to even give it to him. The girl stated in this file was dead. He looked at R.J. with confusion in his eyes.

R.J.'s eyes held fear as she looked at the file open before the Kazekage. He couldn't have access to it. Only the Elders could look at it. Why does he have it? Has he already realized it? That the file before him is _hers_?

"Where did you get that file?" She repeated.

"The Council Elders." His answer was short as he slowly realized the possibility. As she finally looked at him, he could see the shock, the fear, the disbelief swimming in her eyes. The words he spoke next cut through the air like a kunai.

"And you're supposed to be dead."


	7. The Order She was Given

**Chapter Seven: The Order She Was Given**

"No, no, no, no…" R.J. muttered as she slowly kept backing away from the Kazekage's desk. She began to panic. Did he read the whole file yet? If he did, she'd have to flee again.

Gaara watched her cautiously. Seeing her lose her façade made him wary of her. What was in her file that would make her so afraid right now? Just what has she done?

"Please, don't read that file," She looked at him with pleading eyes. She couldn't let him see or remember what she's done to him. "I beg of you…"

"Why should I listen to you? As far as I remember, I'm the Kazekage. I don't take orders from you, Mio."

She froze up completely upon hearing her real name. She couldn't remember the last time she heard someone say her name or even the time when she started calling herself by an alias. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm herself but her effort was in vain. Her heart was pounding rapidly, body was shaking. She forgot how to think rationally, forgot how easy it would be for her to flee from the man before her. Without opening her eyes, she let out a shaky breath and said,

"Forgive me, Kazekage-sama, but I advise you to not read that file," She slowly opened her eyes to look at him. "Because, if you do read it… I can assure you that you will not like what you read."

Gaara made his way to her, once again leaving the comfort of his chair. As he got closer to her, she visibly stiffened but kept her eyes focused on his. He stopped just inches away from her and it was made clear just how much taller he was than her; almost a whole head taller.

"Just what did you do to make your file so hard to obtain?" His voice was deep and frightening.

"Please… don't make me say it." Mio whispered softly. Fear and regret was evident in her voice and it almost made him hesitate what he was doing.

"What. Did. You. Do?" He repeated with more force. Mio tried to take a step back to get away from him but he didn't let her. He grabbed a hold of both her wrists in his right hand and held her in place.

"I…I…"

"You..?"

"I…I… I was given an order to kill you!" She shouted and shut her eyes tightly as she felt his hand tighten around her wrists. She was sure she was not a welcomed guest anymore.

Mio didn't dare open her eyes even though Gaara has been silent for quite some time. She didn't know nor wanted to know what was going through his mind at this moment.

"…Why don't I remember this attempt at my life?" Gaara said slowly.

"I failed to even try."

When he stayed quite she continued as she opened her eyes to stare at the ground.

"I don't know where my Kekkei Genkai originates from but I do know it's not from Suna. I was born here and taken away from my parents because of my abilities. From then on I was trained solely for the purpose of killing you." She winced as his grip became painful, but she pressed on with her story anyways.

"I was around five, almost six when I was given the order. And for months I watched you, trying to find your weaknesses and come up with ways to dispose of you. I didn't know what it was at that time, but as I spied on you, I realized just how lonely I was and in turn began to question my mission. The elders became aware of this and decided I was no longer useful. They issued an order to have me detained and disposed of, and then as the shinobi that came to kill me threw a kunai at me, my instincts took over and I was able to fake my own death." Mio let out a heavy sigh as she finally revealed a huge part of her past to him. She still felt scared but she also felt sort of relieved to finally get it out.

"Look at me." Gaara said in a low growl. Mio kept her eyes glued to the ground not wanting to meet his eyes.

"I said, look at me!" He growled louder as he used his left hand to grab her chin and forced her to look at him. Their eyes met and all she could do was stare at him with wide, confused eyes.

Just why was he smirking at her?

"I had already finished reading the file before you came into my office."

Mio felt as if her heart stopped for a second. "You… What?"

"I would have never guessed it was truly yours if you didn't make it so painfully obvious." He said with a hint of amusement.

"I… You… "

"I have changed. Surly, you have realized the effect Naruto has on people. It's a gift." He said with a small chuckle, so unlike him.

How could she not? Naruto was the one who stood by her side when everyone else in Konoha thought she couldn't be trusted. He made her feel like she was needed, like she was useful. She owed him a lot, but he wouldn't ever let her make it up to him. He was selfless, kind and understanding. Mio smiled a sad smile. She understood what Gaara meant.

"He was my crutch for the longest time." She whispered as her soft breath reached his lips once again because of their close proximity. She realized just how he was still holding her and her cheeks began to heat up a little. Her heart started to beat faster again and no matter how much she wanted to look away, she couldn't. His eyes locked her in place.

He didn't understand what was happening to him. Why was his heart beating faster when he got this close to her? What was with this nervousness he felt? He didn't know what to do. He was the first to break eye contact and proceeded to step away from her.

"I must get back to work. Same with you." Gaara said; sounding as if what just happened, what he felt never occurred as he went back to his desk.

Any thoughts she had about what just happened would never be voiced because she didn't know how or what to say. Mio just nodded silently and quickly left through the door.


End file.
